An 1860s hospital report disclosed horrifying child mortality rates resulting from lack of basic sanitation, ventilation, and hygiene. The establishment of clinics designated for the care of children was met with resistance as it was believed at the time that children should remain in the care of their mothers.

The hospital began in a small house in Bethnal Green as a “Dispensary for Women and Children.” Flocks of child-patients awaiting care made it all too obvious that expansion of the hospital was necessary. After several locations and renovations, the hospital settled on Hackney Road in 1904 and was renamed four years later the “Queens Hospital for Children.”

The hospital buildings caught action during WWII as an Emergency Military Hospital, a War Office, and even a POW camp. Following the war, the hospital became a hub of medical research, advocating modern techniques for the treatment of children’s medical conditions. The hospital shut down in 1997 and its staff and research was transferred to other medical units.

The buildings have since been left to ruin and like most abandoned sites have garnered a small community of paranormal explorers who obsess over the spooky aura that now pervades the buildings.

Sign up for our newsletter and get the best of Atlas Obscura in your inbox.

Stay in Touch!

No purchase necessary. Winner will be selected at random on 03/01/2018. Offer available only in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico). Offer subject to change without notice. See contest rules for full details.

Add Some Wonder to Your Inbox

Every weekday we compile our most wondrous stories and deliver them straight to you.